This was on my husband's bucket list, not mine. I was afraid of the Drake Passage and didn't really want to go. It turned out to be the best adventure of our lives! We started in Santiago, Chile with the pre-cruise wine tasting tour. This included a trip around Santiago the first day, three vineyards over the next two days, a lunch we cooked at one vineyard, and two gourmet dinners in ...
Antarctica has been my dream for years. I researched every type of tour operator before deciding on National Geographic Orion. It is a small luxury ship, where they have the ability to get everyone off the ship for multiple daily excursions. There were a dozen naturalists aboard who gave daily lectures on everything from photography to killer whales. Every detail was thought out and implemented to ...
This was our 7th adventure cruise with Lindblad and the 4th on the Orion. We chose this trip because it was to a very different part of the world and it was on the Orion which is our favourite Lindblad ship. There are only 100 guests so it is easy to get to know many others
We were not disappointed. We were able to visit some very unique Russian locations and meet some amazing local people who ...
We have traveled with NatGeo/Lindblad on several occasions, Galapagos, Iceland, Africa (NatGeo solely), Alaska and now Wrangel Island. I had looked forward to this trip for almost 2 years. My expeditions were not met however.
Food: Plentiful and good as always.
Alcohol: Free flowing (I'm not a drinker, but it appeared it was free flowing).
Excursions: Not so great. Our first stop ...
I thought this expedition was fantastic in every respect. It was very educational with the lecturers by the naturalists and photographers. The Orion hotel staff and cruise were helpful and friendly at all times as were the naturalists and photographers. I met a fantastic group of people from many parts of the world. Antarctica was nothing short of spectacular particularly the colour of the ice ...
Cruising with Linblad/Nat Geo was as opportunity to observe wildlife on the 7th Continent while having naturalist readily available to answer questions. Captain Martin Graser and his bridge crew were readily available, friendly and professional. They were also instrumental in spotting wildlife.
We enjoyed exploring the departure cities of Santiago and Ushuaia. The cities of Sewell and ...
Some people are called to Antarctica, and the Orion took us there in luxury for our adventures. The crew was outstanding in all ways as were the various expert naturalists and photographers. It was fun to hear the captain tell us about how we were going to maneuver to avoid storms and the itinerary would change due to weather conditions -- but we always landed in great spots or explored with the ...
This was our 7th cruise with Lindblad. We go with Lindblad/NatGeo because of the smaller ship size (72 people on this one), the knowledgeable and expert staff and the very high quality of the crew.
We toured the Tumumatu Atolls and the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, visiting 17 in 15 days. Some had not seen a cruise ship stop there and many did not have any people where we swam, ...
Chosen as a frequent traveler when offered a discount. Went with a travel buddy and shared a forward cabin. Lovely even if a bit small. It took a fair amount of rolling making the first 3 days a bit unsettling. As we went south we were in calmer seas and enjoyed the ship not only as an adventure but as a guest of the "hotel". The crew on the Orion is proud of its staff and well it should be. ...
We chose this trip because of our wonderful experience with Lindblad in the Galapagos and our understanding from Lindblad that this would be an expedition with varied land experiences in small groups with a top notch team of knowledgeable guides with an A+ Expedition Cruise organization. The further bonus was the opportunity for great diving while on the trip. Sadly, it did not live up to our ...